Scion
by Firefly01
Summary: Lana learns the truth about the baby she lost. Spoilers to Progeny and then AU.
1. Chapter 1

**TITLE:** Scion  
**RATING:** R  
**DISCLAIMER: **I own nothing (dammit)  
**SPOILERS: **Progeny, S6, then AU  
**SUMMARY:** Lana discovers the secret about the baby she lost.  
**PAIRINGS: **Lex & Lana of course!  
**AUTHOR'S NOTE:** I started writing this during the hiatus between Combat and Progeny based on the spoilers that we had at the time. I just thought the un!baby thing was stupid and decided to rewrite it. Haha. Scion was originally written as a short serial to be posted in segments at DTS. doesn't post my stories correctly most of the time, so if it seems like there should be some kind of break between paragraphs, there most likely originally was. My apologies for that and I hope you enjoy the fic.  
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Lex was lying, that much was clear, but something about the way he flinched when she mentioned the baby made her think that there was more to it. When she'd been told by the doctor at Smallville General that it looked as if she had never been pregnant, Lana had been filled with fury. How dare he lie to her like that! Make her believe that she was carrying his child, and then make her believe that it had died. That she had been a failure!

She couldn't even look at him in the days following that revelation, but she didn't confront him about it. She kept her mouth shut for fear of making things worse than they already were. And in her silence she thought of all the different ways she could make him pay. She couldn't leave obviously, and she was already as distant as the North Pole, so instead she plotted murder.

It had to look like an accident of course, and the scenarios ran through her head. Falling down the stairs? A classic move to be sure, but also a little over done. Still, she was going to file that under maybe. Poison had already been covered, as well as hiring a boytoy to do the dirty work, and it would be a little repetitive to get him on a plane and send his ass into the sea.

God, Helen had been good.

Lana rolled over in bed and looked at the clock. It was 2:30 a.m. and Lex still wasn't home. Where the hell was he? He was usually in bed by midnight groping and grabbing for sex, and as angry as she was, well, not all of him was bad. But for the past two weeks Lex was late, and that bothered her. Not just because it had been way too many days since her last orgasm, but because she didn't know where he was, and what could possibly be more important to him?

Not willing to sit still any longer, she cast her covers off and jumped up out of bed. Grumbling, she put on her robe and slippers before walking to Lex's office. Pitch-blackness greeted her, and she flicked the light switch to look around. The fireplace hadn't been lit and everything appeared to be in order, indicating that he hadn't been home in a while.

There were no papers left out on his desk (which would have been convenient), so she opened drawers and peeked around. Finding nothing useful, she flipped open his laptop and entered in her birthday as the password. "Login Failed," it said. Bastard must have changed it. She began typing in random phrases and dates. Their wedding day- no. His mother's maiden name- no. Julian's death date- no.

After thinking for a moment, she typed in a painful memory. July 27 2007- the due date of their pretend baby. To her enormous surprise, the computer granted access. She pushed away feelings of anger and grief and concentrated on what she was seeing. There were several files for Luthorcorp, but none of those looked interesting. She scrolled past dozens of them and came across a file labeled C-L. Inside were hundreds of pictures, some old but most recent of her and Clark. It seemed she was being followed pretty much everywhere she went.

There were also sound files, which meant that her cell phone was bugged. She listened to a few, but cringed after hearing herself complain to Chloe about missing Clark. All of this was newsworthy, but it didn't tell her what Lex was up to, so she decided to check his recent emails.

Her interest was immediately piqued when she saw so many from doctors, people with an endless stream of abbreviations after their names. She clicked on the first.

_Mr. Luthor. We've been able to slow down the age accelerator to manageable levels. Intelligence seems to be nearing peak. Strength tests conclude that subject is close to being invulnerable to harm. If it gets much stronger, we will have a hard time keeping it contained. Please advice on next step._

Immediately, she clicked on his Sent folder to see what he had to say.

_Continue running the conditioning program till I get there. _

What was a conditioning program? Was this a freak in 33.1? Why would Lex want to make someone older? Had it been a child? Had it been. . .

"Snooping is such an ordinary thing to do isn't it?" Lana jumped at the voice and looked up to see Lionel standing in the doorway. She glared at him, and he continued. "Honestly Lana. You're a billionaire's wife now, you should be able to think of more interesting ways to accumulate information." He sneered at her with that ridiculous grin of his.

One day, she was going to shoot that man right in the ass.

"I am trying to find out where my husband is," she answered coolly.

"Ahh," he said, stroking his beard and walking forward slowly. "That's very dutiful of you. One might even assume that you were concerned for your . . .husband."

It was pointless to beat around the bush. "Where is 33.1?" she asked. He looked a little surprised at her question.

"And why do you assume there is one?" he answered evasively.

"Of course I know that it exists Lionel, now tell me where it is." She closed the laptop and stood up to walk over to him. His expression was contemplative, as if weighing options.

"You know, the saying 'be careful what you wish for' may seem trite, but in this case I think it would be wise for you to heed the warning."

"I'm not interested in any warnings from you Lionel," she said menacingly. "Tell me the truth."

He laughed a little and told her what she wanted to know.

* * *

Lana stopped the car and checked the address again. 2257 Reservation Road. She peered out at the nondescript building in front of her and frowned. It looked abandoned, and indeed she could see nothing at all to indicate that anyone had occupied it in years. The only signs of life were the litter of soda cans on the ground and graffiti decorating the walls.

Scowling, Lana made a mental note to kill Lionel as well when she finally managed to bump off Lex. It would be like a bonus.

She stepped out of the car, holding her purse close to herself, and tapped the .357 inside it for reassurance. This was not the best neighborhood to be in at night. As if any part of Metropolis actually was.

Stepping forward with purpose, Lana walked up to what she assumed was the front of the building. The locks on the door were new, and that was encouraging. After testing the knob, she couldn't help but smirk to find it locked, considering the usual state of Lex's security.

A tiny click to the left drew her attention, and she turned to find out what had made the sound. Nothing seemed to be there, but upon hearing the click again, she moved closer to the source: a run down black mailbox. It was normal except for the tiny hole in the center, and she realized what it was- a camera. Someone was watching her.

What should she do? Pretend not to have noticed? Stamp her feet and order the fools to open the damn door? She opted for the first, preferring to keep her cards close to her chest.

Rounding the building, she looked for another way in. 33.1 was like a prison; designed to keep people in, rather than out. There were a few more doors, all firmly locked, but right before she returned to the front, a loose window presented itself. She opened it after a little prodding, and squeezed herself through.

Lana dusted herself off, and wrinkled her nose. It was dirty and smelled faintly of urine, making her wonder if this was what a crack house looked like. Holding her hand inside of her purse, she walked out into the darkened hallway to see light coming from the top of a nearby stairway.

Taking a deep breath, she climbed the stairs slowly with her eyes and ears wide open, alert for anything. It was cleaner on the second floor, and smelled slightly better, so that was a plus. A strange bubbling sound coming from a door at the end of the hall caught her attention, and she walked towards it expectantly. There were still no people sounds to be heard, and she didn't know if that made her feel better or worse.

The door pushed open easily, and it took a moment for her eyes to readjust to the dim. The room glowed green from dozens of barrel shaped containers filled with the brightly colored liquid. Machines were attached to them, and hoses pumped fluid in and out, accounting for the bubbling noise she'd heard.

As she stepped closer to the nearest container, curiosity gave way to horror at what she saw. Tiny, twitching beings lived inside these concoctions, each of various sizes and stages of growth.

With her eyes wide open, Lana stepped up to the largest creature on shaky legs, her mouth dropping open into a large O. It was obviously human, and alive. She could see straight through it's pearly iridescent skin at its rapidly beating heart, and felt her own begin to match its rhythm.

What has Lex done? she thought. WHAT HAS LEX DONE?

"Oh my God," she whispered through trembling lips.

As if understanding, the baby lifted its head and opened it's eyes to look at her. Lana sucked in a sharp breath and screamed.


	2. Chapter 2

"Get your hands off of me, you bastard," Lana growled at the security agent who griped her arm so tightly.

"Mr. Luthor instructed me to keep you here until he arrives."

"Well, we must do what Mr. Luthor says mustn't we?" she asked mockingly, still trying to free herself from his grasp.

In her horror she'd dropped her purse, leaving her defenseless. Another agent had picked it up and was still holding onto it. She looked at him now from across the room.

"I'm not sure that's really your color," she spat at him. The agent turned his head and ignored her.

A few moments later, she heard the tell tale sound of Lex's expensive shoes tapping against the hardwood floor, signaling his arrival. He entered without saying a word and surveyed the situation, his face as unreadable as ever.

Lana felt a small jolt of triumph when he set an angry gaze on her captor. "Take your hands off of my wife," he said in a hard voice full of malice. There was no room for disagreement, and the agent immediately released her. Lana exhaled in relief and rubbed her arm.

As Lex dismissed the group, Lana turned her back on them and waited.

" _. . . my wife . . ."_

Despite whatever she did or didn't feel for Lex, the power behind those two words pleased her and she smiled a little. Pushing that thought aside and changing her expression, she turned back to see him standing alone, waiting for her to speak.

"Lex," she grated out, shaking her head. "What the hell are you doing here? What is all of this? 33.1?

"Who told you that?"

"Your father."

Lex gave a small annoyed laugh. "Well, he lied to you Lana. This isn't 33.1."

"Then what is it? What are these . . . things?"

Lex looked around at the half formed babies, and stepped over to the one Lana had examined earlier, placing a hand on the glass. The tenderness he seemed to extend to it surprised her.

"You said you wanted a house full of children," he said in a soft voice, still gazing into the container.

"You meant these?" she gasped. "Where did they come from?"

Lex looked up at her, meeting her eyes with a steely gaze. She could clearly see that he was obsessed, much like he had been with the box that Zod left behind. Thinking of that brought a wave of sadness that she violently tried to shake off, determined not to be vulnerable to him and whatever manipulation he planned to spin.

"Please tell me that you haven't been stealing babies, Lex," she said in a confident voice. He gave her a pained smile, and she felt her knees go a little wobbly. "Where did they come from?" she asked again.

He walked slowly towards her. "From you," he answered. She felt a scream rise up into her throat and clamped down on it.

"You're lying," she said through gritted teeth. "I saw a doctor, Lex. He told me that I have never been pregnant. I know that you lied about the baby."

She felt tears sting her eyes, and hated them. All of the anger she'd kept locked deep inside of her began pouring out in a fury.

"That doctor didn't know what he was talking about," Lex said smoothly.

Lana shook her head. "He said I had hormones in my system- synthetic hormones to make me look pregnant. He thought I faked it just to force you to marry me." The humiliation she felt from the idea that someone would think such a thing of her still burned in her belly.

"You did have hormones in your system. They were to prepare the baby for removal, so that it would survive the process."

"Why?" she suddenly shouted at him. Tears streamed down her face at the news that she had been pregnant after all. "Why would you take our baby out of me?"

"Because it would have killed you," he answered in an equally impassioned voice. When he lied, Lex was calm and would speak calmly in an effort to bring her around to his conclusions. Now he looked desperate, and she couldn't help but believe him even though she didn't want to.

"What are you talking about? The doctor said I was healthy."

"I didn't want you to know because it would have upset you." Now he put on a look of concern, and rubbed her arm in that patronizing way of his. She jerked away.

"There's nothing wrong with me!"

"Lana . . ."

"How could you do this without telling me?"

"I told you . . ."

"Why are there so many? You didn't get all of these from me!"

Lex grabbed her by the shoulders roughly. "Calm down, and I'll tell you everything." She hushed at that, and attempted to stand still.

"I've known since the beginning that your body couldn't support the pregnancy, and I started giving you medication to keep the baby strong."

"What medication?"

"That doesn't matter. You started taking it after Christmas, and it looked like it was working." He exhaled and looked away briefly. "It did come with a few side-effects. Severe mood swings and paranoia to begin with. The longer you took it, the worse that got."

Her eyes narrowed in suspicion. "How do you know those were side-effects of the medication?"

"Because everything was fine between us before you started taking it. Didn't you suddenly begin to pull away from me?" For the briefest of moments, his blue eyes flashed with anger, and she felt the sharp stab of fear. Keeping her countenance as passive as possible, she hoped that Lex would not bring up the subject of Clark.

"And then what happened?" she asked calmly.

"Your body began showing signs of stress. You lost weight, and your hair began falling out from malnutrition."

"Losing weight is a normal symptom of early pregnancy."

"I couldn't take the chance." He turned away from her then, and rubbed a hand over his face. It surprised her to see that he really did appear to have been worried.

"Lex, why . . ." she began, but he turned and cut her off.

"So I made the decision to have the baby removed. It was risky, and we weren't sure if it would live or not, but I had to try."

"And you chose to wait until after we were married."

"Of course."

"Why?"

"You know why," he said, giving her a pointed look.

She sighed, and fought to keep her anger. She was upset and confused, and knew that this was his plan; to blind her so fiercely with the truth, that she wouldn't know when the lying began again. Talking about the baby, and knowing that there was still so much more to the story made her head and heart hurt, and she glanced up at the glass jars again, wondering which baby, if any, was hers.


	3. Chapter 3

Lana rubbed her temples and glanced up at Lex who watched her intently with sharp eyes. As much as she wanted to, she simply couldn't separate the fact from the fiction of his story, and resigned herself to just listen to the rest.

"So the medication that you were giving me was actually a synthetic hormone?" she asked.

"No," he answered. "The medication was for you. I switched out your prenatal vitamins shortly after you returned from Paris with Nell. When you were put in the hospital after your fall down the stairs at the Kent Farm, they ran several tests on you."

"What kinds of tests?"

"Among other things, a sample of your amniotic fluid was taken and analyzed. My team was able to reconstruct the fluid using that sample mixed with a liquidated form of meteor rock."

Lana's eyes went wide. "That's why its green," she gasped, surveying the containers. A realization hit her, and she whirled back to him. "You poisoned our baby with meteor rock?"

"It was the only way that I could keep it living under such circumstances."

"Lex! You know how dangerous meteor rock is!" she shrieked at him. "The things it can do!"

He stepped towards her with a determined look. "It was that or end the pregnancy outright. I was not going to risk your life."

She pushed her anger down and turned back to the containers, walking over to them slowly. "Which one is it?" she asked.

Lex hesitated, and she could tell there was something that he didn't want to say. Turning his back on her, he took a breath (to steady his nerves?) and then said, "The extraction was successful. We were able to remove the baby and transfer it to the artificial womb." A pause. "But we were not able to sustain its life. The baby died after only a few days."

Lana shut her eyes and felt her knees grow weak. Feeling dizzy, she fought the urge to vomit, and gripped a nearby metal table for support. Tears spilled down her cheeks as she felt the anguish of losing her baby for the second time.

Lex walked over to her, and laid a comforting hand on her back, which she promptly swatted away. "You could have told me," she accused. "Why did you lie?"

"I wanted to wait until I had good news to give," he said. "After our baby died, I had my team of geneticists clone his DNA."

"His?"

"Yeah," he softened a bit, giving her a quick smile before continuing. "There were originally more than this, but they didn't all survive. All but one of the first batch died within a week, and there have been several more created since then."

"That's why they're all different sizes?" Lana asked, daring herself to glance at them again. The mother in her sparked to life again suddenly at the idea that her children were in danger. Wanting not to care, she tried to swallow a hard knot that formed in her throat, but it just wouldn't go down.

Sensing her vulnerability, Lex placed a hand on shoulder and squeezed lightly. Surprising even herself, she didn't push him away this time. She was too confused and had been bombarded with way too much information.

"So all of these are mine?" she asked in a shaky voice.

"Ours," he corrected.

Wiping her face and nose, she stepped up to the nearest container to read the identification tag printed on its side.

_ID# 0371-59_

_D.O.C. 26 Mar 07_

_Sex: Male_

_Type A-_

"What does DOC mean?"

"Date Of Creation," he answered. "It was the day that their cells first began dividing, and they were added to the artificial womb."

"That was only a few weeks ago. Why is the baby so large?" She peered into the green liquid at the fetus, which measured at least seven inches in length. It had hardly any fat on its body yet, but looked more like a real baby than many of the others that were obviously younger.

"A growth stimulant has been added to make them age faster."

Memories of Evan popped into her mind, and she felt panic. "Will that hurt them?"

"It doesn't appear to. Removing them from the womb should revert them back to normal aging function."

"You mean when they're born?"

"Yes." He rubbed her back absently, obviously pleased by her questions (and the fact that she wasn't presently attempting his murder no doubt).

Looking around at the room they were in, Lana felt sad for them. This is what they have to look at: an empty, dirty room with no mother to talk to them and keep them safe in her body?

"Lex, why are you keeping them here?"

"It's protected, I assure you. My guards saw you drive up and were instructed you leave you alone." When she started to protest, he added "Now that you know about them, you can come and see them if you want. Children do need their mother."

She shivered at that, feeling strange and a little inside out at the thought. Mother to all of these clones? Impossible.

And yet, there it was. Her baby had survived in a way, and despite her misgivings about Lex and the unusual way that it happened she felt a sprig of hope for the first time in far too long.

Lana knew that she was still angry, but at the moment she couldn't feel it anymore. Everything was numb, and she let Lex take her home. When they got into bed, he put his arms around her and she didn't cringe at his touch like she so often did these days. Instead she sighed, and leaned into him.

Sex for them had to be hard and fast usually, so that she could separate him from Clark easily in her mind. This time though she didn't have it in her to be brutal. Through the darkness she looked into his eyes and begged them to speak to her truthfully.

The connection they had to each other, which she had thought was long gone, still existed by a single thread, and she clung to it in an effort to find a temporary peace within herself. The tears began before their lovemaking ended, and then afterwards they came in a watery rush, bursting from somewhere deep inside.

She couldn't put into words how she felt, but Lex held her all the same as she cried herself to sleep. She would sort herself out tomorrow. Everything is always better tomorrow.


	4. Chapter 4

Lana sat at her vanity table and brushed her hair roughly the next morning, feeling only slightly more clear headed than the night before.

The argument raging in her head went on nonstop as Happy Lana and Angry Lana fought continuously.

"_Shut up bitch! Lex didn't fake the pregnancy, so what the hell is your deal?"_

"_Fuck you asshole, I can be mad if I want to!"_

"_At what exactly?"_

"_Lex still lied. He may not have faked the baby, but he didn't tell us what he was doing. We HATE that!"_

"_But he told us now, doesn't that count? It worked with Clark."_

"_No, because Lex is EVIL. It's different."_

"_You idiot. The only reason you thought he was evil is because of the fake baby lie."_

"_Nuh-uh!"_

"_Bitch please. You know it's true, stop being so annoying!"_

"_Everyone says he's evil, it's not just me."_

"_Everyone who? Clark? He lied too FOR YEARS!"_

"_But he loves us!"_

"_Loves us so much that we had to trick him just to find out his secret?"_

"_He would have told us. He was going to do it on our wedding day!"_

"_Lex was going to tell us his secret too. So tell me again, how is he different from Clark?"_

"_But we love Clark."_

"_Don't we love Lex too?_

"_No."_

"_No?"_

"_Wait, what?"_

For the moment, she resigned herself to simply focus on the babies and push the Lex topic aside until later when she'd gained some perspective.

Giving herself a last glance in the mirror, she grabbed her purse and headed out to the garage for her car. Foregoing the red SUV that she usually drove, she took a blue BMW instead, labeled with the license plate heading of LUTHOR3. She supposed that was her anyway- Luthor number three.

Lex hadn't lied about the security surrounding the makeshift lab. In the daylight, she identified several cameras set up blocks away from the building and this time a guard met her at the front door. It was certainly a better way in than the window she'd crawled through before.

Eight men and women in white coats milled around in the room that held the babies, all busy with their individual tasks. They smiled at her as she passed, but otherwise ignored her intrusion. A blond woman with pointy-edged glasses leaned closely to one of the canisters (wombs, she reminded herself) and jotted down information that she read off of a digital display (that Lana hadn't noticed) near the top.

She felt two things when she saw this; one, she was curious to know what the readout said, and two, she suddenly also wanted to know what the heck this woman's credentials were giving her the ability to be so near to the babies. Perhaps feeling the invisible warning emanating from Lana, the blond woman quickly finished writing and scurried away to a desk.

Lana looked around at the other doctors to see if any were watching her (they weren't) and then walked up to read what the other woman had seen. Bright blue letters scrolled across a rectangle shaped LCD screen that said:

_Temp- 99.7_

_BPM- 147_

_WBC Count- 59,800_

After that came a listing of huge drug names that she didn't recognize, followed up with something she understood very well.

_Health Status of 0322-58= 92%_

The baby inside certainly seemed to be okay. She caught herself grinning a little as she watched him suck on his thumb, and she covered up her expression before anyone could see it. She checked the health stats of the others, who for the most part ranged between 79 and 98%.

One though, startled her. At first glance, she could tell it was sick, because it was much more inactive than the others. Its heart beat slower, and even the fluid surrounding it appeared to be a little cloudy. Its status read a miserable 56%.

"This one is sick," Lana called over her shoulder at the doctors behind her. They all stopped and looked up, as if frozen in time, silently watching her.

"She has always been weaker than the rest," one of the doctors finally said, and Lana's mouth inadvertently fell open.

"It's a girl?" she gasped. "How is that possible?"

"She's the only one. An anomaly. It happens," the doctor answered, and then they all went back to work, leaving Lana alone with her questions.

#0377-51 was currently 24 weeks old, but looked younger. She was thin, and even through the green haze, Lana could tell that her skin was paler than the rest of the babies. She was dying.

Just then one of the doctors slammed a metal filing cabinet closed, causing the baby to jump violently from the noise. She continued to shake afterwards as if frightened. Angry at the distress they were causing the baby, Lana turned around and glared at them.

"Will you keep it down?" she asked in a controlled, but lethal voice. They gave her blank stares, unsure of what to do. "You're scaring them," Lana added. She turned away from them and back to 0377-51 placing her hand against the glass, willing the baby inside to hold on just a little bit longer. Inwardly, she stamped down on the deeply buried voice that told her she was going quite insane.

"_Fuck off," _Happy Lana said.


	5. Chapter 5

Lana found herself visiting the babies everyday, spending hours staring into their wombs and smiling at them when she managed to catch their eye. At night most of the doctors went home leaving only two technicians to work the graveyard shift. Since they left the room when she arrived, Lana was able to spend some time alone with the babies, talking to them and lightly tapping the glass when they pressed their feet against it.

The one she spent the most time with was 0377-51. Against all odds, the girl had managed to survive thus far, even gaining a little more weight finally. Her eyes were still fused shut, but like the others, she recognized Lana's voice and would stretch her tiny hands out towards the glass. She couldn't quite reach yet, but Lana tapped anyway, hoping that the vibrations would still let her know that she was there.

The little time that she spent at home was actually somewhat pleasant. She still hadn't decided on where her and Lex stood, but a strange calm had descended, and she felt content to coexist with him for the time being.

He in turn, couldn't be happier. Gone were the disappointed looks and scowls she used to receive, and were replaced by affectionate smiles, some of which actually managed to meet his eyes. Though still understandably tense, their relationship felt better than it had been in months.

The only thing that bothered her was the fact that he rarely talked about the babies. Dozens were about to be "born" and yet there were no preparations at all to bring them to the mansion. Where were they supposed to go? She decided to ask him about it over breakfast.

"Lana," sighed Lex as he set down his coffee and turned towards her. "I think you have to prepare yourself for the possibility that not all of the babies are going to make it. Their mortality rate has actually been quite high. I'll keep trying, but I can't guarantee that any of them right now will survive full term."

Lana shook her head. "But most of them are fine," she lightly insisted. "Even the girl is doing better, and the boys seem completely healthy."

Lex smiled a little. "I guess it is too late to ask that you not get too attached."

"To my children?" she asked, becoming angry. She pushed away from the table and stood up. "Yes, I suppose it is."

As she walked away, she wondered when she began thinking of them as belonging to her. It was not a conscious decision. Was she really so desperate that she'd cling to the test tube clone of a dead baby in an effort to find some happiness? Gloomily, she decided that she didn't want to know the answer to that.

When she was 8, Lana had brought home a stray cat that she'd found on the way from school. It was black and white with funny looking spots on his ears. From that he earned his name, "Freckles."

He was happy for a time, sleeping at the foot of Lana's bed at night and indulging her attempts to get him to play with string. By the time they realized that he might be sick, the vet gave them the news that it was too late, and that apparently "Freckles" was about 100 years old. Well, in cat years anyway.

The death of Freckles hit Lana hard, and she cried for weeks. Nell's response to her grief was a callous "you shouldn't have named him," and even though Lana resented her at the time, now she understood the lesson in it.

Naming something made it real and gave it an identity that had personality and more importantly, a soul. Without trying, Lana had inadvertently named the girl baby "Lena." When she and Lex had been picking names for their baby several months prior, they picked Lena as a joke. It was a combination of Lex and Lana, and they'd laughed at the silliness of it. Somehow though, the name managed to stick.

With so many boys, it was easier to leave their names for another day, but since there was only one girl, she stood out among the rest. Lana knew that with her being less healthy than the others, she was probably the worst possible baby to become attached to. A lost cause to be sure, but maybe that's why she cared so much.

On the way to their bedroom to finish getting ready to leave for the lab, Lana paused outside of the original baby's nursery. It was a place she hadn't entered since believing that Lex had faked the pregnancy. Not giving herself a chance to feel sad, Lana pushed open the door and stepped through the threshold.

A feeling of heaviness came over her as she looked around, almost as if there were no air at all in the room. The appearance was the same, but it felt different to her now. The blue walls seemed to say to her, "dead baby," and the sound echoed over the crib and toys they surrounded.

No, this wouldn't do at all.

Almost robotically, she moved around the room removing things from shelves and ripping decorations from the walls, placing them in the crib for easy disposal later. By the time she was halfway done with the removal process, the crib was already overstuffed with unwanted items.

Just as she finished tossing an evil clown statue into the bundle, Lex walked into the room with a perturbed look on his face. "Lana, what are you doing?" he asked in a tight voice.

"If any other babies are going to stay in this room, I think it needs to be re-done. Keeping all of the old stuff from . . . well, it's all just a little morbid isn't it? I think we should start over with all new stuff for the new babies. Maybe even paint the walls different. What do you think?"

A scowl briefly crossed Lex's face, but he covered it up and managed a weak smile. "Whatever you want," he said. Not giving him a chance to change his mind, she smiled and reached up to give him a peck on the cheek in dismissal before returning to her task. Lana sighed when she heard the door click behind her.


	6. Chapter 6

Lana insisted on painting the nursery herself. She'd been deprived of the pleasure before, and took real joy in picking out colors and fabric for drapes to match. The only thing she kept from the old room was the rocking horse, and even that was refinished.

Already the room felt lighter to her, hopeful and finally she felt the anguish of the past begin to slowly fall away. Lex even began to come around as he watched her transform the place. He teased her for having paint in her hair one late night, and they ended up making love on the floor.

Once the room was finished, Lana felt a knot slowly release in her chest. All her life she had to brace herself against the inevitable demise of everything close to her, and rarely had those things that were lost been returned to her. Lex. Clark. Her child. Of the three, the last was the one that she could truly call her own.

In the seclusion of the mansion, it was easy to forget about the outside world. Unfortunately though, the outside world wouldn't forget about her. During the past several weeks she fielded numerous calls from Chloe asking her to come to Metropolis.

Technically she went to Metropolis every day, but there was just no way to tear herself away from the lab. As it was, it became harder and harder to leave each night. The babies were literally growing right before her eyes, doing in weeks what it took months for normal babies to do.

Since she'd been watching over them, seven of the boys had died, leaving her grief stricken and that much more determined to stay with them as much as possible. It wasn't until Chloe "jokingly" threatened to have the police check to be sure that Lana was still living, that she finally agreed to have lunch with her.

"Earth to Lana," Chloe called, waving her french fry around in circles.

"Sorry," she mumbled, lost in thought.

"Okay, what's going on with you?" Chloe asked in a serious tone. She peered into Lana's face with her reporter's eye looking for answers.

Lana gave the girl her best smile. "Just life," she answered cryptically. Well, it was the truth after all.

"Life?" Chloe asked, arching an eyebrow.

Lana laughed. "Yeah, you know. Things are just going well for me lately."

"Oh," Chloe said, sounding surprised. "So things with Lex are . . ."

"Better," she answered honestly.

"Well, that's good." Chloe gave her the best smile that she had, but it wasn't convincing.

"What?" she asked, fearing the answer.

"Lana, we've just been really worried about you is all. The mansion is practically in lockdown. You're not seeing visitors or taking calls. What's going on over there?"

"I've just been very busy lately," she said, noticing Chloe's blank stare. "And Lex and I have been trying really hard to get back to where we were as a couple."

Chloe shook her head in surprise. "I'm sorry Lana, but the last time I saw you it really seemed like you were about ready to leave Lex, and now suddenly the two of you are giving it another shot? What about everything's he's done? You're actually going to just sit there and be Mrs. Luthor?"

"I am Mrs. Luthor, Chloe," Lana corrected. The name sounded foreign even to her own ears.

Chloe's mouth gaped open. "What about Clark?" she blurted out.

Acid splashed into the back of her throat and she tried to keep her composure. Thoughts of Clark had been forcibly pushed from her mind lately. There was no way she could run off into the sunset with him now, not with the babies coming. She would have to squash down hard on that part of her heart for their sakes. "What about him?" she asked in mock boredom.

"He loves you Lana," Chloe said in a whisper and the words caused Lana's heart to skip a beat. "I thought you loved him too."

Lana took a shallow breath and steadied her nerves, gathering her purse and laying money on the table as she stood to leave. "I did," she finally said, looking Chloe straight in the eyes. "But that's over now."

As she walked back towards her car she felt a twinge of regret knowing that Chloe would probably relay the news back to Clark. But it had to be so. For the children.


	7. Chapter 7

Bad news really does travel fast. It didn't even take an entire twenty-four hours to pass before Clark Kent came looking for her. After spending the rest of the afternoon and early evening with the babies, Lana returned home early. She'd had dinner with Lex at Luthorcorp and been given the go-ahead to start work on designing another nursery next to the other. No reason to stuff them all in one room when the mansion had so many to spare. She hummed to herself while trying a color scheme to go with.

"Another nursery?" came the familiar voice behind her. Lana turned to see Clark's puppydog eyes staring back at her, demanding an explanation.

"You are really going to have to start calling first before just dropping in for a visit," she said in a calm voice. The instant her eyes met his, she felt her pulse begin to race and she fought hard to keep herself under control. So much had changed since the last time they'd seen each other. Her entire life had turned upside down in a matter of mere weeks with not only the babies to think of, but her future with Lex as well. Not seeing Clark had been much easier.

"Lana, what's going on?" Clark asked with concern. Her throat went dry, and she felt terrible for what she was about to say. Clark was the last person she ever wanted to hurt, but . . .

"I'm pregnant again," she said evenly. The many months of living as a Luthor made it easier to lie so convincingly, but it didn't make her feel any better about it. Clark's face dropped as if he'd been punched in the gut at the news. She watched as the emotions crossed his face clear as day- disbelief, shock, sadness. A wave of guilt crashed over, forcing her to begin chattering nervously. "Well I wanted to build a new nursery since the old one had so many bad memories attached to it and all. Didn't seem right to put another baby in there . . ."

"But there was no other baby," Clark interrupted.

She paused, suddenly unsure as to what to say. Should she tell him about the mistake that was made and expose the babies to his scrutiny? In doing so, how many other people would find out about them? No, it was best to keep them a secret, lest people begin to question them too closely.

"That was a mistake," she told him. He began shaking his head, but she continued. "The fetus was preserved for autopsy at the hospital, and I had three separate labs run DNA tests on it to be sure that it was mine. I really was pregnant Clark. Lex didn't do anything wrong." Clark's blank face told her that she was doing well enough, and so she kept going. "I blamed Lex for something that he didn't do, and became bitter about it. That wasn't fair of me, and I'm trying to make ammends." The only piece of honesty in her explanation left Lana feeling a little too exposed, and she wrapped her arms tightly around herself for comfort.

"Lana, it could still be a lie. Let me check. I can see through things, I could see if you're pregnant or not."

"No!" she shouted a little louder than she expected to. He looked stunned.

"Lana . . ." he tried.

"Clark," she said in an effort to cover up her outburst. "You don't know what that could do to me, or to the baby. I couldn't take it if I lost another one."

"I don't think it would hurt you."

"I'm not going to chance it," she said with finality in her voice. He looked down at the floor in thought, and she held her arms around her middle tighter. If he looked through her, he'd be able to tell that she was not pregnant. It was obvious to her that she was going to have to stay away from him at least during the duration of her "pregnancy." The silence between them was long and uncomfortable, and Lana began to get antsy. "You need to go," she told him quietly. "Lex will be home soon

"So you're going to stay with him," he asked sadly. She pushed down on a pang of regret and doubt.

"He's my husband," she answered. "We're having another baby, and I want to do it right this time." Again, honesty.

He sighed, and without a word disappeared down the hall to leave. She both wanted him to come back and never come back again and the confusion left her feeling drained. Unable to concentrate on decorating, she sank down against the wall to the floor, laying her head against her knees.

* * *

Lex was less than thrilled about the news of their visitor. Clark had not only been seen by a staff member in the main hall, but he'd also been caught on three different security cameras. Lana sat cross legged in the middle of their bed as Lex paced the floor still dressed in his suit and tie. The look he gave her wasn't unexpected, but it was still upsetting. For the first time in months where Clark was concerned, there truly hadn't been anything going on.

"What did he want," asked Lex as he traveled the length of the room for the third time. She almost smiled at the thought that he could wear down the carpet soon, but she clamped down on that one.

"He just wanted to see how I was doing," she answered truthfully. If they gave out awards for honesty, she'd be all over that sucker today.

"He couldn't have called?"

She did smile this time. "That's not the Clark Kent way." He accepted that, and finally began removing his tie and cuff links.

"And what did he say?" he asked.

"He saw me working in the new nursery, and he asked about it." She paused. "I told him that I was pregnant again."

Lex looked over at her in surprise, and then turned back to the bureau, slipping his watch off of his wrist and laying it down. Lex's expressions were always so completely unreadable, and so Lana learned to read his body language for clues. Though his back was to her, the rigid line he'd been holding himself up with relaxed a bit, and she decifered this as good news.

"So who do we talk to about getting me a fake belly?" she asked teasingly.

He glanced at her over his shoulder briefly to say, "I'm surprised you said that. You could have just told him that we were planning to adopt."

"I know, but I want to be able to call at least one of them ours for real," she answered. "I'm sure there will be one that we can pass off as the right age by then."

"Should be." He pulled his shirt off over his head and flung it into a chair. As he removed the rest of his clothes, she focused on her fingernails, pretrending to be lost in thought. The encounter with Clark earlier had left her feeling raw, and she wasn't quite sure that she felt up to any after-dark shennanigans tonight. Lex left to shower, and she fell backwards into the pillows and growled at herself. Why must she constantly feel guilty? When would the pity party stop, and her life finally begin?

"Right now," she told herself, jumping up out of the bed. If she really was going to dedicate herself to this life, she needed to move on from the person she used to be. Give up on those past hurts, and be this new person as best she could. She didn't know how that could ever be possible, but it must start with Lex.

She stepped into the bathroom and watched him through the clear shower door. He had both of his hands up against the wall, bracing his weight against them with his head down, eyes either closed or looking at the floor. All three sprayers were pointed towards his neck and back to relieve tension, and she felt bad suddenly to have caused him yet again to be upset. She pushed thoughts of herself away, and slipped out of her nightgown and panties. When she opened the shower door and stepped inside, he looked surprised, and in his eyes she caught a rare glimpse of vulnerability. Clark always did this to him. He was so good at that.

Lana wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down for a kiss, her wet body pressing up against his. His hands wound their way around her back and the curve of her hip and pulled her in even closer, the space between them non existent. "I love you," he whispered. A thrill passed through her body as she felt him legnthen and harden against her belly. "I love you too," she said softly, and though she'd said it often since they'd been married, this time felt much more truthful.

* * *

The fake belly turned out to be something that Lana really enjoyed. She decided that this time she would gain weight faster, and so by "10 weeks" she had a visible baby bump for all to see. Hordes of photographers captured her image and beamed the pictures around the globe. It was kind of nice to get the attention of being pregnant, without actually having to go through it. The belly stayed on at all times, even in the mansion in front of the staff so that there was no chance for the truth to get out. The only time she took it off was in her bedroom, but when Lex wasn't there, she gazed at it through the mirror, imagining the pregnancy to be true. It sort of was.

Lana still spent a great amount of time at the lab with the babies. Several more had died, and this began to greatly worry and sadden her. Why did they suddenly just take a turn for the worst? Did they somehow know that the way they were brought into the world wasn't right? Was there something wrong with them? Or with her or Lex's genes? She tried asking him these questions, but he usually just got aggitated and ended the conversation. Looking to get answers out of him was an impossible task, and so she decided it was time to revisit Loose Lips Luthor.

Lionel had been a person that she avoided ever since he told her about the lab. It bothered her the he knew something that she didn't, and upset her that he kept it to himself as long as he did. Why not tell her sooner if it was so important? Did he not know? Would he not be able to help? She decided to try anyway since he would unfortunately be a grandfather very soon.

"Ah, Mrs. Luthor," he exclaimed with a bright, false smile as she stepped into his guest house. He shut the door behind her and offered her a seat. "Wouldn't want you to tire yourself out," he said sarcasticly. She ignored him and sat down, looking at him intently as he seated himself across from her. "May I offer you anything? Tea?"

"No, thank you," she said, glancing around herself. "I was wondering if you could help shed some light on something for me," she said. He nodded, and she continued. "The babies in the lab. . .are they sick? Why do they keep dying? It seems so sudden that they just wink out like that right before they're full term."

Lionel smiled sadly and shook his head. "What are you doing Lana?" he asked, sounding disappointed.

"What do you mean?"

"Just like Lex. You become so emotionally distracted that you completely miss the bigger picture."

"Lionel, if you have something to say, don't play games with me. Just say it."

"I don't believe that I am the one playing games with you," he answered curtly, rising to go into the kitchen. He came back with a cup of tea for himself, and one for her as well. She took it and set it down on the table.

"Lionel," she warned.

He smirked over his cup at her. "The real question you should be asking yourself is not why they keep dying, but where they're being buried." He nodded, taking another sip. "Yes, I should think that would be a great deal of help."

The thought had occured to her, but she hadn't realized it was important. "Where are they buried?" she asked, feeling frustrated.

"First answer me something," he said, and she could have screamed. "Why are you continuing to play house with Lex?"

"Is that not what you wanted when you forced me to marry him?"

"I did that so you would keep an eye on him," he answered. "Is that what you're doing now?" The answer was no, and he could see it in her eyes. "You're playing with fire my dear."

"You still haven't answered my question," she reminded him. Why had she ever considered him to be a trustworthy person? It seemed that he only told the truth when it either amused or benefitted him.

Lionel snickered in that Cheshire way of his that she hated. "Well," he began. "It's quite obvious my dear, that the answer to your question is that they're not. Those babies are not being buried anywhere."

Shock rang through her ears as she tried to process what he was telling her. Without having to ask, he indulged her by adding, "You can't bury what isn't dead."


	8. Chapter 8

The bulk of the fake belly made running difficult, but she finally got to her car. The long drive passed by in a blur as her mind raced through everything she'd learned. They weren't dead. Lex had lied. Again. But why? Why would Lex lie about his children being dead? Her brain began the difficult task of accumulating the evidence, and she could almost see Good Lana and Bad Lana sorting through the files.

_Slam! The metal filing cabinet bangs shut. "Yep," says Bad Lana with a triumphant smirk. "He's evil."_

_"I object!" shouts Good Lana from the stand._

_"You would!" counters Bad Lana Lawyer from the desk in front of her. "Your honor, I would like to offer the court evidence," she requested, pushing her glasses up on her nose. "Proceed," says Bad Lana the Judge._

_"Hey!" shouts Good Lana from the stand. "Why do you get to be the judge too?"_

_Bad Lana just smiles, and rolls the metal filing cabinet over to the middle of the room. "Just go with it babe," she says with a wink._

_Good Lana is annoyed, but she sits back in her booth and waits. "Your honor, I offer exhibit A," Bad Lana says as she removes a file and flips it open. . ._

"Mr. Luthor. We've been able to slow down the age accelerator to manageable levels. Intelligence seems to be nearing peak. Strength tests conclude that subject is close to being invulnerable to harm. If it gets much stronger, we will have a hard time keeping it contained. Please advice on next step."

_"Now Lana," the lawyer says, strolling up to her. "Why would babies in glass artificial wombs need help being contained?"_

_Good Lana just stares, her mouth dropping open to speak, but no words come out. "I . . ." she tries to say._

_"Indeed," says Bad Lana, continuing. "And how exactly would one measure their intelligence? I assume that if a baby doesn't spend all day playing with his newly formed penis, he may in fact be a bit ahead of the pack, but that doesn't really seem to be noteworthy does it?"_

_"Well . . ."_

_"And, if the 'subject' were invulnerable to harm, then how can the babies keep 'dying?'"_

_"Lionel could have been lying," Good Lana attempts weakly. "He does that you know."_

_Bad Lana sighs, and gives an annoyed look at the judge, who just smiles, offering her a quick thumbs up. "Have you no other explanation for this evidence?" Bad Lana asks, redirecting her comments to Good Lana, who looks nervous. _

_"No," she answers quietly._

_"Then we'll move on your honor to exhibit B." Bad Lana leans down into the bottom cabinet drawer, shaking her fanny a bit for the viewing pleasure of the Lana jury, who giggle at the sight. "Ah, here we are," she says, standing straight, file clasped in her hand._

"Lana, I think you have to prepare yourself for the possibility that not all of the babies are going to make it. Their mortality rate has actually been quite high. I'll keep trying, but I can't guarantee that any of them right now will survive full term."

"But most of them are fine, Lex. Even the girl is doing better, and the boys seem completely healthy."

"I guess it is too late to ask that you not get too attached."

_"I believe the evidence here shows that Lex never intended to actually let us have any of the babies. Remember this look?" She holds up a picture of Lex's face when he walked in on Lana re-doing the original babies nursery. "He was horrified that we were wanting to re-decorate the nursery for the babies. Why? Because we were too attached, and he knew that the nursery wouldn't be needed."_

_"I think that as usual, you're jumping to conclusions," Good Lana objected, raising her voice. "Lex may have just been upset at the original nursery being taken apart because he loved the first baby, and didn't want it's memory disassembled like that." The Lana jury murmured to each other rapidly in agreement._

_"Order," shouts Bad Lana Judge, slamming her gavel against the desk. Bad Lana Lawyer looks nervous for a second, having lost a bit of her momentum._

_"I would like to take this opportunity to cross examine the witness," steps up Good Lana Lawyer with a grin. "What?" she says to the surprised looks. "I can't play too?" _

_The judge nods finally, and Good Lana Lawyer walks over to the cabinet and pulls out a few files of her own. "Then let's get started shall we?" she asks. "Your honor, I would like to enter into evidence the case of Evan."_

_"I object!" yells Bad Lana Lawyer from her desk._

_"Oh pipe down princess, you had your turn," Good Lana Lawyer responds, not waiting for the Judge. "Now Evan was a baby cursed with a rapidly aging body. He grew so much so fast, that he eventually exploded." She paused for a moment, letting the memory sink in for the courtroom, whose mood had become sad. "Lex is the one who had a team of scientists try to stop the aging process, and during that was gifted with an enormous amount of information. No doubt, he used at least some of what he knew in his efforts with the babies." She looked around a silent courtroom, and continued. "It is our opinion that even though he tried, Lex failed to properly stop the rapid aging."_

_"And your question would be . . ." prompted the Judge._

_"My question to you Lana, is what will you do about it?"_

Lana pulled into the drive, and stopped the car, taking a moment first to focus. She rubbed her temples slowly, and concentrated on her breathing. Lex lied again and it made her crazy, but she couldn't help wondering why. As she sat in the car trying to decide what to do, she watched the old run down building, not really seeing it. The hour was late, and soon it would be dark. The day shift had already ended, leaving only the two lab techs on call. She would start with them first.

Exiting the car, Lana stepped up to the door and inserted her key into the lock. She entered like normal, making her way quickly upstairs to the lab. The techs smiled at her as she walked in, and she smiled back, turning her gaze to first check on the babies. A quick count, and it was obvious that two more were now gone.

"I guess we lost a few more today," she said off handedly, as if used to the idea.

"Yes ma'am, I'm sorry," said Robert, one of the techs. He usually brought her coffee and a pastry from Starbucks on Fridays. She held his eye, and under the scrutiny, he became a little nervous, immersing himself into his charts and calculations.

"I was wondering if I might be able to attend the burial," she asked casually, and both Robert and Julie, the other tech, looked up at her in surprise.

"Ma'am?" he asked quizzically.

"The burial. I want to be there when my children are buried," she clarified.

Robert and Julie looked at each other briefly, and then Julie said, "I'm sorry, but I believe that they have already been buried."

"Oh. Well then, where should I take their flowers?"

Another look, and Lana was sure that Lionel had been right. The babies weren't dead at all, and Bad Lana wanted to get to the bottom of it. Robert picked up his cell phone, and began punching in numbers. "Perhaps we should call Mr. Luthor," he said.

"Perhaps you should hang up your phone," Lana informed him with a deadly look on her face. The gun she pulled from her purse and pointed at him was convincing, and he did as she asked. Robert glanced up at the camera overhead, and Lana snickered. "We're not in direct view from over here, so why don't you do me a favor hmmm? Take that plastic tubing there, and tie Julie to her chair."

"You're not serious," he gasped.

"I couldn't be more serious," she chirped. "Maybe it's the fact that you're lying to me, or maybe I'm just hormonal," she said with a laugh, rubbing her fake belly. "Who knows? Now do what I say."

* * *

"Ouch!" cried out Robert, as Lana pulled the tubing tight around his wrists behind him.

"Yeah, I think that'll hold," she said, getting up and moving in front of them. "Well, now that we're comfortable, why don't you tell me what you know?"

Julie exhaled in annoyance, and glared at her. "All we have to do is scream, and the security will be here in seconds. You have no leverage."

"Hmm," thought Lana out loud. "True, but all I have to do is shoot you, and you'll be dead. And the security can't touch me, so what was that you mentioned about leverage?" She arched a brow at Julie, who looked away in defeat and frustration. "Right," Lana continued. "Now tell me where my babies are."

"We don't know anything about that," Robert answered.

"And yet you still knew enough to tell me that they had already been buried? Try again."

"We're not made privy to everything that goes on around here," Julie spat at her.

"The babies are being moved during the night while you're on duty. Tell me where they take them," Lana growled. The anger welling inside of her began to grow to unmanageable levels, and she felt herself spiraling apart.

"We don't know . . ." started Julie, and Lana exploded, slapping her across the face as hard as she could. The action surprised even her, and the sting in her hand pulsed with warmth and pain. Julie looked up at her in horror, her bottom lip slightly cracked and red from the blow.

"I am loosing my patience with you," Lana said, as if it weren't obvious. "Tell me what I want to know right now."

"They don't leave here," Robert said quickly. They move them downstairs, but I'm not sure where."

Lana composed herself, and stood up straight, smoothing her hair back and putting her gun back in her purse. "Thank you," she said politely. "Please do keep your voices down while I'm away. I am privy to your personal information, you know." She left the room with the threat still hanging in the air, and made her way downstairs. She'd seen security personnel coming in and out of a door to the left of the main entrance, and she knew that to be the surveillance room. All other rooms in this huge building were suspect, but Lana decided that the other lab, or whatever it was, would probably not be located so near to where it smelled like urine. She followed her nose, and took hallways and paths that smelled the freshest, hoping to run into a big, flashing neon sign that read, "LANA! THIS WAY!"

What she found instead was a new working elevator, and that seemed good enough. As she rode down to B1, Lana was halfway surprised that she hadn't been stopped yet by security. No doubt they were watching her, and she turned towards the elevator camera to smile at them. Lex would most likely be here soon, but till then . . .

She exited at the ding and walked down a singular hallway to a set of double doors. A key card was required to enter here, and she shook the handle in frustration. It didn't budge.

"May I help you Mrs. Luthor?" came a voice behind her. Finally the Men in Black had arrived.

"Yes, I seem to be having trouble getting this door open," she told him innocently.

He strode forward cautiously, and smiled a little. "I'm sorry Ma'am, but this room is for authorized personnel only."

"Authorized by whom?" she asked in mock sweetness, feeling the anger rise again. Seriously, why did these people even try to get in her way?

"Mr. Luthor will be here shortly, and he's asked me to escort you upstairs until he arrives."

"Has he then?" Lana asked. The muscles in her neck became very tight.

"Yes Ma'am, so if you would follow me please." He gestured towards the elevator.

"No, I don't think so," she told him in an unwavering voice. "I think you should open this door for me."

"No ma'am, I'm sorry."

"Do it right now," she insisted.

"Ma'am, if you'll just follow me everything will be alright."

"I'm not leaving here until you open this door."

"Ma'am," he said sounding desperate.

"Now!"

Bad Lana reached into her purse and pulled out her gun, aiming it at the man's chest.

_"Oh for Fuck's sake, just shoot him already,"_ she said, and Lana did. She watched as the man clutched his chest and slumped to the ground as the fog of gunpowder smoke dissipated. Lana took a moment to register properly what happened and compose herself again, turning her face towards the hall camera. "Now open this door," she said to it.

She stared into the lens for about thirty long seconds before the doors buzzed behind her. Taking her leave, Lana put her gun back in her purse and stepped through the doors.

* * *

The white room was so bright that it took a moment for her eyes to adjust. There were no people that she could see, but it was hardly empty. Computer stations and refrigerated shelves lined the walls, with dozens of papers and equipment covering tables. The place was obviously very busy during the day. The refrigerated shelves had dozens of vials of blood and other liquids behind their glass doors, all labeled with familiar numbers. Aside from all of the computer and research equipment, there were also curious contraptions that might have passed for some type of exercise and endurance machinery. Though she would have liked to examine these further, her time was running out. Lex would be here very soon, and she still hadn't located the babies yet.

Signs posted above the doors were certainly convenient. Considering how difficult it had been navigating the upper floors, seeing such obvious directions were a shock. She stepped through the door that said "DORMITORY." The long, straight hallway was dark, with very little light to illuminate her path. It opened up to dozens of doors all in a row with tiny windows in their centers. She peered through the windows anxiously, but could see nothing in the darkness. It was all very quiet. Perhaps they were sleeping?

Disappointed, Lana continued to check the doors, and by the time she was almost to the end of the hall, a small beam of light caught her attention. She ran over to the window it came from, and saw a man in an all white room, doing push ups on the floor. What? Lana leaned back to check the number his door was labeled with and surprised to read one she had never seen before. 0300-01. It was the first of the clones.

Glancing back to the window, she was surprised to see the man's face staring back at her. "Oh!" she screamed, throwing a hand over her mouth to stifle it. The man jerked as if frightened as well, and then he reached down and turned the handle to open his door. She could say nothing as the door opened, only stare. Who was this man?

Deep inside, she knew the answer, but her rational mind wouldn't hear of it. He could not be her child. He was a grown man, perhaps even older than her, though not by much. This had to be a trick. Some crazy idea of Lex's to be sure . . .

"Who are you?" the man asked, interrupting her thoughts. He looked concerned, and she realized that she must look crazy or something. She attempted to smile, but that only seemed to make him even more uneasy. Thank goodness there was no mirror to capture her bulging eyes and insane expression.

"I," she tried to say, but nothing would come out. Not even Good and Bad Lana had a fricking clue.

"Here, sit," he said, offering her his only chair. She took it, if only to keep herself from falling down, and he sat opposite her on the bed. Her mind kept reeling, but she finally began to process what she saw. The room they sat in was all white, like the lab had been, as were his clothes. He had a small desk and chair, a bedside table and a twin bed that he now sat in. On the table appeared to be his only book: a battered copy of "The Time Machine," by H.G. Wells.

"You're not a doctor," the man said to her in an astonished voice, bringing her gaze back to his face. His eyes were a clear crystal blue, strong jaw and straight nose framed by dark brown hair, cut short. His skin tone was olive; hands thin and smooth looking, and fingernails neat. He was beautiful.

"No," she finally croaked out. "I am not a doctor."

"Then who are you?" he asked, with wonder in his eyes.

"She is your mother," said Lex from the doorway. Tears welled and fell down Lana's face as she looked up at Lex in shock and fear. His expression was calm and loving.

"My mother," repeated the man in a thick voice, full of emotion. Her eyes moved back to his to see tears there as well. She shook her head a little and covered her face with her hands in an attempt to block out what she didn't want to hear. Gentle sobs shook her body as she came to the realization that there would be no babies for her. That all of this was wrong.

"Why are you crying Mother?" the man asked carefully.

"She is a little overwhelmed," Lex told him, dropping down to Lana's side. "Go and get her a cup of tea to make her feel better." The man jumped up and ran out of the room to do as he was asked while Lex attempted to wrap his arms around Lana to console her.

"Why didn't you tell me?" she asked in a small, hitching voice.

Lex sighed. "Because you were so happy and excited about the babies. I wanted you to stay that way."

"You knew I would find out. You should have told me."

"I thought that I would be able to have a baby for you by the time you were ready for it," he told her, gesturing towards the fake belly.

"They're all grown men?"

"No, the youngest is about 12," he said, and she choked on another sob. "My team is very optimistic about the most recent subjects."

"Is that what they are to you Lex? Subjects?" She laughed then, and feared that she might be close to hysteria. "They're our children! Grown children walking around the same age as us. You've created people Lex that we can never publicly even claim as our offspring. What are you planning to do with them?"

He decided to skip that question. "Once they were born, they just grew so rapidly, that we couldn't stop it fast enough. This one is the oldest; the only survivor from that first batch."

She stopped sobbing, and he brushed her tears away, pulling a handkerchief out of his pocket for her to use. "So, some of them really have died?" she asked.

Lex nodded. "Not every pregnancy is viable. Most of the mortalities have occurred in the first few days." He looked around the room a little, as if seeing it for the first time. "How did you know to look for them?" he asked.

"Your father told me, but he said that none of them had died."

"My father shouldn't even know anything about this place. I don't know where he's getting his information."

"You mean that somebody else knows about the babies?" she asked feeling alarmed.

"It would seem that way."

She wanted to ask more, but the man, her son, walked back into the room with a hot cup of tea for her. He set it down on the little table in front of her, and re-seated himself on the bed, a look of worry still marring his face. He looked at Lex, who gave a tight lipped smile and stood up to sit next to him. It struck Lana suddenly just how similar they looked, and even though a scream rose in her throat, she clamped down on it hard. The situation became awkward, and feeling that she needed to say something to break the silence, Lana asked, "What is your name?"

The man looked puzzled at first, and then a little sad. "I haven't got a name," he answered in a soft voice.

Lana looked accusingly at Lex, who nodded. "Perhaps your mother will give you a name," he offered. At first she felt angry at Lex for heaving such a responsibility at her, but then relaxed, realizing that it is a job that parents always do. Still, the situation as it were was not in any way normal. This wasn't a new baby that she would get to teach to walk and talk, it was a man who would have to be taught to go out into the world soon. Could he even do such a thing?

"Oh, I don't know," she said nervously. "You can probably just pick one that you like."

"Please," he begged. "Choose a name for me, Mother."

Lana sighed and leaned down to pick up her tea, her eyes falling on the book beside it. How appropriate that this man had no name, she thought. As she stirred her tea, she tried to think of a name that he might like. She finally settled on David.

"David," he repeated, trying it out.

"If you don't like it . . ., " she said quickly.

"No!" he answered. "I like it. It is my name." She watched his face light up, and the scene conjured up an image in her head of Pinocchio, come to life. He was finally a real live boy.


	9. Chapter 9

"Lex, the lying is getting ridiculous. I'm here, I want to help. Quit making me find out about things, and just let me in." Lana stood on her side of the bed in her jade colored, thigh length nightgown, and began tossing extra bed pillows onto a chair. He emerged from the bathroom, freshly showered in his own pajamas, and helped to turn the bed down.

"Trust you?" he asked without looking at her, and it felt like a blow to the ribcage. It wasn't so long ago that he did trust her with everything he had. Well, so far as she knew anyway.

Lana sighed and searched for words. Once the covers were down, he did look at her, waiting for an answer. "I know that we've had our problems lately," she started, and though his expression did not change, she could practically feel the accusations coming at her. She sat down on the bed, but Lex kept standing, making her feel like a child. "I haven't been the most trustworthy," she said, deciding to take a different route. "This is different though. These are my children too, and you can't keep details about their well-being a secret from me."

He softened a bit, finally sitting beside her. "I suppose part of me didn't mind keeping this a secret because . . ." She could see that this was very difficult for him to say. It wasn't often that Lex actually said whatever happened to be in his head. "I was angry with you. For pulling away from me, for running around behind my back." At this, his eyes flashed very briefly with anger, and she recalled the hundreds of pictures and sound files that he had to prove it. She had no rebuttal to offer. "Being alone is something that I've had to deal with my whole life. You were the person that I felt I could be the most honest with- the first person I ever felt I could really trust. That's been damaged Lana, and I can't just pretend like everything is fine between us."

He looked at her again, and she felt herself withdraw from him, as if she were disappearing down a tunnel, seeing only his face at the other end. "I'm trying," she said weakly.

"I know, and it has been better." He placed his hand on her knee, making her feel very warm despite her distress. It felt like a lifeline almost, and her whole body seemed to reach up and grab it. "I want things back the way they were, but it'll take a little time," Lex continued, pretending for the moment to be oblivious to her heightened awareness of his contact. It was always this way between them. Even when they were at their worst, fighting and barely speaking to each other, all it took was a look and they were in each other's arms. A temporary truce was called because the bedroom had always been where they made the most sense.

"And in the meantime?" she asked as his index finger began lightly tracing circles on her thigh. Her eyes followed their invisible trail, transfixed.

"You can have full access to the lab. No more . . " he chuckled. "Murdering the security or taking the doctors hostage." His hand snaked upwards slowly, and she parted her legs for his questing fingers. Strange how her body went on autopilot when he was around, regardless of how she felt emotionally. There was so much that still needed to be said, so many questions that needed answering, but one by one she felt all higher brain functions begin to switch off as the blood ran from her head down towards her pelvic region.

Lana leaned back into her pillows and closed her eyes. Now really wasn't the best time for this, but she could always argue with Lex in the morning. "I hear pregnancy does that to a woman," she said with a sigh. Lex said nothing in response, already too lost in lust for conversation. "Makes her irrational."

Lana spent more time away from home than ever, playing the role of "mother" to all 23 of her new sons. It seemed ridiculous to even be dealing with this kind of situation, but she did the best she could, meeting the others, one week after meeting David. They beheld her as some kind of Goddess, and each came to her, kneeling down and kissing her hands, begging for her to name them as well. For the youngest, she chose names from children's books like Max from "Where the Wild Things Are," Omri from "The Indian in the Cupboard," and Peter from "Peter Pan." It became obvious to her that she could have named them anything really, because it wasn't the name they loved so much, but that she had given it to them.

While observing their daily routines, Lana noticed many odd behaviors. For one, they were completely docile and this she learned was a result of some kind of drug they were being given, probably to keep them under control. They certainly weren't like other boys their age- they never fought or argued much, and when they talked about "the outside" it was in hushed tones. The mother in her wanted the boys to be free to live and experience the world, but the realist in her knew that this wasn't possible. At least not yet anyway because they still had so much left to learn and understand. As it was, they had taken in so much information in such a short amount of time that it gave them powerful headaches, for which another drug was given.

It didn't always help.

"Shhh, it'll be okay," Lana tried to console. She sat in the dorm room of Collin, an 18 year old boy, who lay on his side with tears running out of his eyes, his hands covering his face which grimaced in pain. Lana put her fingertips at his temples and gently moved them in a circular motion in an attempt to help relieve his pain.

It upset her that Lex didn't visit them more often. He listened when she spoke about them, but rarely asked questions about their personal lives. The only times he was really around was when they took "testing." Or, at least that's what they called it. Individually, they were taken into another room with Lex and several doctors where Lana was not permitted to follow because it would distract them. She didn't know exactly what "testing" entailed, but the boys came out okay, and happy if they passed. If they failed, however, they would be inconsolably miserable.

Collin had been one of those boys, having failed his testing the day before, the stress of which probably helped cause the pain in his head now. "You can talk to me you know," she coaxed, still rubbing his temples and neck. The boys were extremely difficult to tell apart, since they all looked alike. There were subtle differences in their features though, and they each had very individual personalities. She would laugh in the face of anyone who ever tried to convince her that cloned beings had no soul of their own. Collin was a boy that Lana had come to know very well due to his deep love of the ocean. At all times, he carried with him a satchel full of various oceanography books, most that included beautiful full color pictures that he stared at for hours on end.

"When you go into the ocean, what does the water taste like?" he had asked.

"It's salty," she'd answered. "Lick your arm, it's kind of like that." He did and became so excited and happy that he licked his arms and hands constantly for a week, drying out and blistering his tongue and embarrassing the hell out of Lana. That episode had been an embarrassing lesson for her, and afterwards she had to be careful of what she said to them. As it was, they did not watch television, and didn't even know yet that it existed. She had several arguments lately about what they could and couldn't know.

"What are we supposed to do, Lex? Keep them locked up like rats forever?"

"Of course not Lana, they'll be released in time."

"Released! I guess that word is appropriate, because they practically do live in a prison, don't they?"

"They've only been alive for a few months. They've learned in that time what it takes ordinary people years to learn. They are intelligent, but lack the proper context for which to apply the knowledge that they've gained. How can they be let out of the building when they don't even understand traffic signals yet? The first time they try to cross the highway they'll be killed."

"I know," she sighed in defeat.

"Then why are we arguing about this?"

"I don't know."

Lana knew that in theory he was right, but she couldn't let go of the feeling that he never intended for them to leave. That somehow these boys, his children had become a second 33.1 project for him.

"What is the 'testing' for?" she asked.

"That's just where my team tracks their learning progress and intelligence levels."

"So you are teaching them?"

"I don't know what you want me to say Lana. I feel like I'm just repeating myself for you."

She sighed in frustration, and crossed her arms in front of herself, drawing a shawl tightly around her shoulders. Despite the fact that it would very soon be summer, the castle was always cold.

"It just seems like they don't know anything about the outside world except for what I tell them. I brought Chris a book about monster trucks the other day and he questioned me about cars for three hours. How they run, how people drive. And yet he can say the word 'truck' in six different languages. This just feels so backwards."

Lex laughed a little and moved to sit beside her, taking her hand and warming it between his own. "Well, I suppose that their education has previously been a little lopsided. That's why it's good that you've decided to help. I need you to be there for them and teach them the things that I miss."

She gave a strained smile.

"But Lana, I worry that you're spending a little too much time with them."

"What?"

"They may seem gentle, but most of them are grown men."

"They're my children."

"Yes, but there are a lot of things that they don't understand yet. Women in particular, and I want you to be careful around them."

She pulled her hand away from him. "What are you suggesting? That they could attack me?"

It was Lex's turn to sigh. "No, they've been given a drug to keep that urge under control, but you still need to be careful about paying any of them special attention so that they do not develop unnatural feelings for you."

Lana honestly hadn't given that idea any thought before, and she felt a shiver creep up her spine. How strange it was that she should think of these boys as strangers rather than her own children.

Unnatural indeed.


End file.
